One of my biggest pet peeves when filming is when The Security Guard™ comes by and asks, "Got permit or not?"

If answer is, "No" = Die.

If answer is, "Yes" = It will often be followed up with, "Oh, but you are only allowed to film in this area."

Cue frustrations and lost time (time is money, btw) multiplied by no. of people on set and punctuated with a defensive "Sorry I am just doing my job" by said security guard.

Has it ever occurred to them that they are stopping us from doing our job too? Why not live and let live?

Or... just go the renegade way.

Apparently that's what the crew at Ikea Heights has decided to do. The site reads:

Ikea Heights is a melodrama shot entirely in the Burbank California Ikea Store without the store knowing.

Without the store knowing.
So naughty. I like.

There's something undoubtedly thrilling about filming in forbidden locations. Because you have to be discreet, you also can't afford to bring in all the huge-ass equipments as that would be a dead giveaway - which means you have to be creative and use whatever available resources there are at the location. You also don't have the luxury of multiple takes either, as the longer you take, the higher the risk of being found out. And of course, if you're eventually banned from the location, there goes all the effort.

Anyway it's a super-interesting concept. The hanging IKEA price tags and fake phones and computers absolutely crack me up.

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Other references:
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us
UrbanDictionary - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=all%20your%20base%20are%20belong%20to%20us

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